


My heart, like a broken casette echoes in my chest

by Drakojana



Series: Kissing Strangers [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: And Mark is a bit too naive, Cheating, Dark is an ass, Established Relationship, Jack is stupid, M/M, Oneshot, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 05:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11960943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakojana/pseuds/Drakojana
Summary: "I… I didn't actually sleep outside." He begins in a small voice."What?" Mark straightens his back, picking up the seriousness in the green-haired man's voice."I… I met a guy at that club. Bar." Jack almost bites his tongue at the slip-up. Hopefully, Mark won't pay too much attention to that part of the sentence.





	My heart, like a broken casette echoes in my chest

**Author's Note:**

> Everybody wanted more, so there we go!

Jack's not sure what wakes him up first - the pounding head, the non-stop ringing phone or the gust of almost icy morning breeze on his back. But as he groans and stirs awake, all of those three things mix into an unbearable cacophony of sensations. His eyes open instantly, though he has to rub the remains of sleep away with his fists.

His hand goes on a quest in search for the source of the insufferable sound of his favourite song. Choosing heavy metal for a ringtone stops being a cool choice the moment the rapid bashing of drums tries to conquer the head-splitting ache. The green-haired man swats blindly at the air where his bedside table should be, finding nothing. Then it's time for his head to finally clear up and his heart rate picks up, the organ pounding in his chest in the initial panic.

One glance around the room confirms everything - Jack isn't in his bedroom. The second glance on his right side helps him find his phone that's managed to shut up for a minute. He scrambles to get it and when the screen comes back to life, Jack feels his heart beat even faster.

10 missed calls from _Markimoo_

He chews on his bottom lip as he just stares at the device, trying to decide what to do. Should he call back? Send a message? Wait for his boyfriend to call again? Then he realises that apart from the calls, there are a few messages there as well. And the sender of all of them is Mark again.

_12:42 AM  
"I'm sorry, I overreacted. I hope you'll forgive me, you know how stupid I am when I get angry."_

_1:26 AM  
"Jack, where are you? It's a bit late."_

_2:03 AM  
"Jack, text me back. I'm getting worried and I can't sleep."_

_8:57 AM  
"Jack, are you this angry with me? Pick up the phone."_

_9:05 AM  
"Oh god, did something happen?? Please pick up."_

The green-haired man looks at the clock in the upper corner of the screen. 9:15 AM. And Mark's been calling non-stop for nearly half an hour. How did he not wake up earlier? Well, he gets his answer pretty soon as a wave of nausea sweeps through him and he puts a hand over his mouth. Thankfully only a quiet burp comes out, though there's a bit of burning in his parched throat.

When a second groan reaches his ears, Jack snaps out of his dilemma. Somehow he's managed to ignore the fact that he's in somebody else's house this entire time. And then it's time for even more conflicting thoughts to flood his mind.

He's still pretty much naked, the thin covers hiding his exposed body up to the waistline. Yet another frantic look over the floor helps him locate his clothes. The black tee with a rainbow cacti pattern, the skin-tight ripped trousers, even the dark blue underwear and black socks. Jack's eyes linger on the briefs and he tries to swallow any remains of saliva in an act of nervousness that settles in.

"Good morning, beautiful."

Hot breath accompanied by an impossibly deep voice hits his ear and Jack lets out a shriek so unmanly he'd normally be ashamed of. He almost falls off the bed but the stranger's arm quickly wraps around his waist to save him from the ungraceful fall. The man simply chuckles at that.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

Jack finally turns his head to look at the other side of the bed. There his gaze meets amber eyes that seem unfamiliar at first. But the more he stares at the stranger, the more he realises it's no stranger at all. It doesn't mean that the returning memories soothe him in the least. In fact, the green-haired man can feel his ears burn up as he feels the hard heart pounding all over his body.

"Oh my g-god…" He utters out and the hand that's been gripping the phone all this time lets the device go in shock.

"Nope, just me." Dark seems quite amused by Jack's reactions. He grazes the other's cheek gently with his free hand. "You're so gorgeous, you know?"

The green-haired man wants to slap it away. He wants to scream and to run away. But at the same time, he doesn't want to look like a teenage boy that's just lost his virginity. It's just a one-night stand. It happens.

But not to people in close relationships.

So with the remains of shame he's still got in him, Jack pushes Dark away, not bothering to admire his mussed in almost artistic way bed hair or his perfectly exposed, tanned chest.

"I-I can't. No, no, fuck. I have to leave right now," he mumbles to himself as he gets out of the bed, snatching the clothes from the floor as quickly as he can to cover his exposed junk from the hungry eyes of the black-haired man.

Surprisingly, Dark doesn't even move from the bed. In fact, he just falls back onto the soft pillows with a relaxed sigh.

"Of course. I hope you remember where the door is," he says casually.

Jack rushes out of the room but stops in the doorway, giving the other a confused look.

"Y-you don't… mind?"

Dark lifts his head up lazily for a couple of seconds to answer.

"I don't get out of the bed until after 10 AM. Sorry if you were looking forward to me driving you back." Though he apologises, there's no remorse in his voice. The tone is light and cocky.

Jack finds a bathroom where he throws the clothes on in a rush and goes back to the bedroom to get his phone back. Thankfully his wallet is still in the pants' back pocket. Before he leaves for good, Dark winks at him.

"Thanks. It was a fun night. Maybe we'll meet again?"

The green-haired man doesn't grace it with a response. He practically runs out of the house and shivers as the cold morning wind hits his exposed arms.

He thought he'd have only one moral dilemma on his mind. But now he's stuck with two or maybe even more. Still, the most important one lingers among his loudest thoughts and Jack stands on the pavement as he eyes his phone.

The screen lights up, the ringtone disrupts the silence on the street. The green-haired man picks up.

"H… hey, Mark."

"Jack?! Oh my god, where are you?! What the fuck happened?!"

At the same time it's relieving and distressing to hear his boyfriend's voice over the phone.

"I… I think I've had too much whiskey last night." Well, it's technically not a lie. He _was_ drunk when he made the choice to go with Dark.

"Are you okay?" Mark sounds so scared, there's not a single hint of the anger Jack's heard the previous evening. "Tell me where you are and I'll be right there to pick you up!"

 "Yeah, yeah. I'm… I'm fine," Jack mumbles the last word and turns around to look for the street name on the houses. When he finally spots some sort of a sign, he gives Mark the information.

"Okay. Stay right where you are, I'll be there in ten minutes."

His boyfriend hangs up first. Jack just stares at the dark screen of the device again, thousands of thoughts racing through his head. Just as Mark asked him to, he doesn't move from the spot until a car pulls over and somebody jumps out of it through the driver's door.

Jack sighs and he returns he rib-crushing hug of worry he receives, though with much less energy. Mark leans back to look at him with eyes that are still red, glimmering with tears.

"Christ, I was so worried… I-I thought somebody's beaten you up, or kidnapped you, or…"

The green-haired man gives his boyfriend a sad smile. They've got a very serious conversation coming up and he's pretty sure he isn't ready at all. He lets Mark kiss him on the forehead and lead him back to the car. It's only when Jack fastens his belt and the black-haired man gets back on the road to drive them both home do they start the proper discussion.

"Where did you go yesterday after we… You know." Mark says in a sad voice that almost breaks Jack's heart.

"To a bar." The green-haired man chooses a safer option. It's not a lie, technically, since all he did at the club was drink. His feet didn't even touch the dance floor and he comes up with the explanation for himself than the other.

"Oh. So you just… went out to drink?"

Jack looks out of the window on his right. He rests his head against it. It's definitely not his proudest moment to admit he was drowning his feelings in a glass of whiskey.

"Yeah. Just… to drink."

The green-haired man glances at the Mark. His boyfriend's grip on the steering wheel is tight enough to make his knuckles turn pale.

"Where did you go after, then? I mean, how did you end up there?"

Jack takes a shaky breath. He can't lie forever but he's ready to keep it up until they're at least back home.

"I-I don't remember very well." Again, he tells himself that there's some truth in there - he doesn't have any memories of the car ride itself. "I must've walked out and just gone until I passed out."

"Shit, you must be cold," Mark's hand rests on Jack's knee for a second, giving it a firm squeeze. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I… I overdid it, didn't I?"

"No, no. It's my fault, too." Something stings in his chest as the green-haired man adds the last word. Shouldn't he take the whole blame to appear as sincere as possible? "I shouldn't have got drunk, that was a shitty thing to do. I should've just stayed with you and talked it out…"

They don't say anything else for the rest of the ride. When Mark parks the car and gets out to open the front door of their shared house, Jack silently follows with his head hung low. He needs to tell his boyfriend the whole truth now.

As soon as Mark sits down on the couch with a heavy sigh and tosses the keys on the table in the living room, Jack walks up to him though he remains standing. He lifts his gaze from the carpeted floor to look straight into the black-haired man's ones.

"I… I didn't actually sleep outside." He begins in a small voice.

"What?" Mark straightens his back, picking up the seriousness in the green-haired man's voice.

"I… I met a guy at that club. Bar." Jack almost bites his tongue at the slip-up. Hopefully, Mark won't pay too much attention to that part of the sentence.

"… Go on." The other narrows his eyes, tilting his head slightly.

"And… Fuck, Mark. I… I ended up staying over at his house."

Jack nervously watches Mark's fists ball up and relax. He can tell his boyfriend is having a hard time controlling himself. But maybe he won't burst out like he did the previous day. Then again, it's a pretty heavy confession.

"Did you two…?" The black-haired man says in a low voice that's ready to shout.

Jack breaks the eye contact and no words leave his mouth afterwards. It's enough for an answer. And enough to set off the bomb that is Mark's heart.

"I can't fucking believe it! You- You got yourself a pity fuck because I'm a shitty boyfriend, is that it?! So you just had to go out and woo some random ass guy to forget about me?" He yells and Jack only winces, knowing he has every right to be furious. "How many times have you done it so far? Every time we argue?!"

The green-haired man can only shake his head, his eyes shut tight.

"I… I don't even know what to think right now. You know, Jack? I love you. I fucking love you, I was tearing out my hair in worry because you didn't come back home and didn't reply to my texts, and you just…" Mark lets out a groan of frustration as he storms out of the room. "I hope you're fucking proud of yourself!"

"… 'M not," Jack mumbles, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry. Like, really sorry. P-please forgive me, Mark…"

The black-haired man stands in the entrance to his office. He grips the door tightly and grits his teeth, trying to contain some of his anger. The last thing he needs is some collateral damage to the furniture because of their arguments.

"I'm going to work. I need to think about it, so don't bother me. If you want to go out again, feel free to do so. I'm not stopping you."

And with that, he shuts the door behind himself. Jack's left alone in the room. He half sits, half falls onto the couch and breaks out into tears. There's a fluffy pink pillow he's got Mark for Valentine's day and at the current moment it seems to be the best object to soak up as he cries into the soft fabric.

It takes up all of his energy and the green-haired man doesn't realise when he passes out from the exhaustion. His heart aches so much that sleep is actually welcome. A few hours pass until he opens his eyes again. And this time, there's a blanket draped over his shoulders, as if it's been thrown on him carelessly.

Jack sits up, rubbing his eyes and sniffing once or twice. He hears the sounds of glasses hitting each other from the kitchen. So Mark's out of his office, it seems.

The green-haired man hates being stuck with his thoughts at this point. They end up confusing him and giving him choices impossible to make. Right now, he's trying to figure out what to do, once again. He can get up and walk over to his boyfriend and apologise again, or stay on the couch silently.

Before he can make the decision, Mark walks in with a steaming cup of tea. At first, he says nothing when he sets the drink on the table in front of Jack. So naturally, the green-haired man takes this opportunity to speak first.

"I'm really sorry, I'm an awful boyfriend, I know I shouldn't have done this and I regret it, please, please don't be angry with me--"

He's shut up by a hand over his mouth.

"I'm not. I… I forgive you." Mark speaks softly yet he tries to appear strict. "Just promise that it won't happen ever again, alright?"

It's such a surprise that even when the other lets him speak again, Jack just sits with his mouth wide open. He's expected that it'd take at least three days of begging and doing all sorts of favours just not to get kicked out right there and then. Instead, Mark's decided to forgive him despite being straight up cheated on.

Jack jumps at Mark and hugs him tightly, holding him like he's a lifeline. He can't ruin their relationship. They're going to be fine, he knows it. Nothing will get in between them anymore.

But he can tell that to himself all he wants.

When a week later the doorbell rings, Jack is the first one to the door. Mark chuckles at his excitement, they don't get unexpected guests very often. So the green-haired man unlocks the door and swings it open with an award-winning welcoming smile. It drops as soon as he sees who waits on their doorstep, though.

"Oh. Hello there, gorgeous."

Jack feels his heart fall into the depths of his stomach. He takes a step back and it's enough for Mark to come forward. He's close to pushing his boyfriend away and just shutting the door, locking it back forever. What the hell is Dark doing there?

Well, he gets his answer soon enough, when Mark opens his mouth.

"Warren? I haven't seen you in a while."

"W… Warren?" The green-haired man mouths, watching both his boyfriend and the other man in fear. "You two… know each other?"

Mark gives Jack a look of concern.

"Of course." He lets the taller man in, closing the door. Dark keeps smiling and glancing at Jack with half-lidded eyes.

"Thought I could drop in for a friendly visit." His voice is as deep as Jack remembers.

The green-haired man swallows thickly and takes more steps back. Just when he thought it was all over. Did this guy come here just to fuck his relationship up?

"How?" He whispers.

Mark stands beside Dark, and before he even replies, the whole realisation dawns on Jack. How come he's never noticed it earlier? The exact same amber eyes, similar dark hair…

"We're cousins."

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song [**Hot2Touch** by Felix Jaehn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtfTKKCgD9c)
> 
> Anyone interested in even more adventures of Jack and two hot guys?


End file.
